Doctor Who and Dad’s Army star John Leeson – who voiced the famous character K9 on the hit show – has died at the age of 83 as his family paid a heartbreaking tribute
Doctor Who and Dad’s Army star John Leeson has died aged 83.
John – who was famous for voicing the beloved robodog K9 in Doctor Who – died following a “summer of illness”, his heartbroken son revealed to friends and fans. As well as voicing the dog, he also starred in the likes of Dad’s Army.
In a statement, John’s son Guy Ducker wrote: “I regret to announce the death of my father, John Ducker, a.k.a. John Leeson, at 3:03pm today after a summer of illness. The end was peaceful.”
Sharing a William Shakespeare quote, he added: “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Tributes flooded in, including from Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies.
In a lengthy tribute on social media, he wrote: “The voice of K9, and a fine, fine actor. When we brought K9 back in 2006, there was no question that we’d ask John to provide the voice, it was impossible to imagine anyone else.
“And really, what a performance, what a character: a posh dog, uppity, haughty, wry, but somehow innocent too, and so funny. “Maximum defence mode!” God he was good. Pitched perfectly so that kids could impersonate him. That’s not easy, that’s hell of a piece of acting. And he was wonderfully dedicated to that character for… gasp, six decades!
To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed.
“He’d phone me up and chat sometimes – on the landline, I remember, those were the days. Including one time when he hadn’t been paid! But he was so gracious about it. A true gent, and a great loss. Sympathy to his family and friends. Good night, sir. Affirmative!”
As well as the main TV series, John reprised the role Leeson in a number of Doctor Who audio dramas as well as the show’s spin-off series, CBBC’s The Sarah Jane Adventures. Aside from the series and its spin-offs, John also had roles in The Bill, Vanity Fair, Doctors and Blake’s 7 and also was a continuity announcer on Channel 4.
Fans also paid tribute to John, with one writing: “What a loss. Had such a smile on my face the first time I heard “maximum defence mode!” in school reunion.” A second added: “Aw no, what a sad couple of weeks this is turning out to be. He was so lovely and funny.”
Like this s tory? F or more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
